LET’S MAKE A DEAL: Democrats on Capitol Hill may not yet be ready to lay out their cards for lame-duck tax negotiations, but that doesn’t mean they’re not pulling up a chair to the table. Members on both sides of the aisle certainly appear willing to talk.

Republicans have opened the door to focusing on everyone’s favorite temporary tax provisions — extenders — after November's midterm elections. They’re also talking up the need for tax law fixes called technical corrections in the same timeframe.

Staffers are quick with reminders that technical corrections don’t only apply to bugs in the new tax cuts law, H.R. 1 (115), but also to past tax law. Still, much attention is being given to errors written into the sweeping changes President Donald Trump signed into law at the end of last year, mistakes that Democrats blame on the Republican rush to pass the partisan bill.

So let the horse-trading begin. Any GOP offer pairing extenders with technical corrections is certain to prompt a Democratic quid pro quo, predicted the Senate Finance Committee’s ranking member, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). “You can be darned sure my colleagues are going to say, ‘Hey look, you guys want a whole bunch of policy changes which you’re having to ask for because you moved with such haste — we’ve got a bunch of things we need to have in the package too,’” Wyden said. But he wouldn’t divulge demands he’s contemplating, other than mentioning his desire for post-election passage of retirement legislation he co-authored with Senate Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah).

Uncertainty continues for now. Since the tax cuts were enacted, some Democrats have said they’d like to raise tax rates on top earners and increase estate taxes, but a couple of Democratic-leaning lobbyists said they remain unsure of policy changes Wyden and friends may try to extract. The election outcome will certainly influence the discussions, one of them said, adding a useful pointer that Democrats want extenders, too — just not at the price of helping the GOP fix the new tax law. And remember, earlier this year Republicans secured Democratic agreement to amend the law's so-called “grain glitch" after Democrats secured an expansion of the low-income housing tax credit.

WELCOME TO ANOTHER FRIDAY from Morning Tax, where we’re ready to start the weekend. But be sure to check back next week, and stay in touch with some tax tips, too.

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BACK TO TRUMP’S TAX RETURNS: Senate Finance Republicans don’t think Trump’s tax returns would shed much light on alleged Trump family tax fraud detailed in a New York Times report this week, so the panel doesn’t need to review the filings. “Most of that information is from, like, eons ago,” said Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.). It demonstrates asset transfers by Trump’s father, Fred, but not crime by the president, Thune said.

As for an IRS investigation into allegations of tax fraud, as Wyden has requested, that’s up to the IRS, said Hatch’s spokeswoman Nicole Hager. “Chairman Hatch doesn’t feel the need to call for an investigation every time he reads a newspaper,” she said. The chairman has full legal authority to obtain the returns, Wyden said, which he’d do if Democrats take control of the Senate and he takes the gavel, though he declined to comment on releasing Trump’s tax returns publicly. “I would talk to my colleagues and then decide what to do next,” Wyden said.

TAXING CAMPAIGNS: As Morning Tax has noted in the past, taxes haven’t been the marquee issue in the midterms that a lot of people expected. That doesn’t mean no one is talking about the issue, though. A new ad roundup from our colleagues at Campaign Pro includes:

ISO GILTI GUIDANCE: Business leaders and tax professionals still have a lot of regulatory questions about a new tax on U.S. shareholders' overseas income following initial guidance from the Treasury Department, according to a recent Deloitte survey yours truly summarized. Respondents are particularly keen to get more information on how foreign tax credits apply to the Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income tax, or GILTI, with 42 percent of them singling out that issue when asked what additional guidance is of most interest to them. Regulators released preliminary GILTI rules Sept. 13 and said at the time they’d issue more guidance to address how companies deal with their foreign tax credits and account for their expenses.

EXODUS TRACKER: Yet another Senate tax aide has left the Hill for downtown, with Derek Theurer departing the office of Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) for Business Roundtable. He’ll be the trade group’s vice president for tax and fiscal policy, our friends at POLITICO Influence reported, marking the most recent in a string of Senate and House tax staffers to head to K Street following passage of the new tax law. In addition, Business Roundtable promoted Matt Miller to vice president on the government relations team.INTERNATIONAL UPDATE

MAMMA MIA:Banks in Italy might soon face a reduction in the amount of interest payments and writedowns that they can deduct from their taxable income, according to Reuters. The cutback in tax benefits for the country’s lenders is in the mix of measures under consideration to fund next year’s budget, the story said. Under the bank-related proposal, they could deduct only 85 percent of interest payments from their tax base and would have to spread losses from a new accounting rule over a period of two to 10 years. Bank representatives said the plan could crimp lending and hurt the economy.

KEEP RAISING THAT RATE, JAPAN: Japan should stick with plans to increase its nationwide consumption tax a year from now, but policymakers need to tread carefully in the process, said the head of the International Monetary Fund. The scheduled tax hike to 10 percent from the current 8 percent ought to “be accompanied by carefully designed mitigating measures to protect near-term reflation and growth momentum,” Christine Lagarde said, according to the Japan Times. Longer term, the IMF again recommended Japan should gradually raise the consumption tax to at least 15 percent “to pay for the cost of caring for a rapidly aging population while reducing its massive public debt.”STATE NEWS

DEFENDING A FLORIDA TAX PLAN: Republican attack ads have put the Sunshine State’s Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum on the defensive for proposing to increase corporate taxes, according to the Orlando Sentinel. Gillum’s plan would raise the state corporate income tax rate from 5.5 percent to 7.75 percent to fund education costs, which would hurt economic growth there, said opposition advertising. His running mate called the ad “scaremongering, noting that most businesses are exempt from the tax and that even companies that would pay the higher rate would still pay less than in prior years thanks to the federal tax cut passed by Republicans in Congress,” the article said.

NEW JERSEY CLEANING UP: Gov. Phil Murphy signed a controversial bill that clarifies parts of a recently imposed increase in the corporate business tax as well as newly implemented combined reporting, “a practice that prevents businesses from moving profits they make in New Jersey to other states,” our Katherine Landergan reported from the Garden State. Business interests howled in protest over parts of the bill, including a component connected to how New Jersey will deal with the federal GILTI tax, and opponents predicted companies would relocate to other states as a result.

About The Author : Aaron Lorenzo

Aaron Lorenzo is a tax reporter for POLITICO Pro, an assignment that has him canvassing Capitol Hill most days of the week to talk to members of the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means committees.

He previously covered taxes for Bloomberg BNA, and before that he covered economic and monetary policy responses to the 2008 financial meltdown and recession. Prior to all of that, Aaron wrote about the biotechnology drug industry, covered a little bit of local school board news and reported on more high school sports than he cares to remember.

In his free time, Aaron enjoys baseball, barbecue, yard-work and wine, in no particular order. He was born and raised in Tampa, Fla., graduated from Boston University and lives with his wife in Washington, D.C.